A polyptych often evokes the idea of religion, something gilded in gold and traditionally sacred. But that’s not how the Korean Avant Garde House Songzio imagines it – they deconstruct the idea – shatter it and re-imagine it as a deconstruction of time and space in their SS26 collection ‘Polyptych’. Ateez’s Seonghwa, the brand’s Global Ambassador, takes centre stage for this story as he wanders through space and time and the absence of it.
In the surreal campaign shot by renowned Cho Giseok, we see a new side to the collection – one that takes full advantage of the photography medium. While we saw a look at the oriental futurism the collection brought in last year’s Paris Fashion Week, the styling in this campaign fully embodies the fragmentation across space and time.
Liminal and timeless
Is this a collection from 2026? Is it the futuristic dreams of the past, or perhaps an imagined memory from the future? Songzio says neither, situating the campaign in a complete absence of time. Set in five chapters – order, fragments, embracing the past, tangled time, unfettered freedom – Seonghwa, our protagonist of this campaign, wanders through the liminal space. He stares to us, through an excess of clocks that aim to determine the hour, as if he is the only one aware in the sea of chaos. Models flit out of doors of light as Seonghwa evolves on his adventure, seen through his styling.
Time is a thing that binds us all so how exactly can one escape from it? Songzio does so with it’s deconstruction of traditional Korean wear such as the hanbok and western armour, innovating on history with asymmetrical forms in this collection. It’s radical but respectful, meant to inspire what the future could be, evolving itself without the bindings of conventions.
In this absence of time, the photos cleverly devoid itself of the sun, choosing the moon itself as its clock. Lunar cycles have been styled on and around the model, becoming one with the hands of time. There’s an uncanny stillness, as if the world in these photos has slowed down completely – it’s especially emphasised through the lack of movement in the clothing and the desolate backgrounds.
The surrealist future of 2026
To me personally, the campaign evokes the surreal and intricate imagery of 20th century science fiction films, particularly Things to Come, where surreal imagery was of the forefront of what the future would be imagined us.
Polyptych re-constructs that in its own mythical way, through the technology of today. Even the behind the scenes feature captures that liminality of space and time. It’s one of those moments in fashion that reminds me how storytelling through fabric does not have to sacrifice aesthetics and compositions, but instead embracing the full efficacy of styling and art direction. Each photo of this fragmented story serves as its own portrait, evolving itself as more than just avant garde fashion.
The full campaign in it’s hauntingly celestial glory can be found in full on Songzio’s instagram.